The present invention relates to supports for the display of items of merchandise in a retail setting. More particularly, the invention relates to hardware for supporting an item of merchandise to permit visual and tactile examination by customers in a location where such items are normally stocked in packaged form.
Many types of relatively small (e.g., hand-held) items are stocked on store shelves in boxes or cartons from which the item must be removed for visual and tactile examination by the shopper. Some types of packaging are designed to permit viewing of portions of the item, e.g., by blister or shrink packaging wherein the item is covered by transparent plastic affixed to an opaque card. However, the items are normally not viewable from all sides and may not be physically handled outside the package, as is often desirable, e.g., with items having parts intended for manual manipulation under conditions of actual use.
It is a principal object of the present invention to provide a simple and economical, yet highly effective and versatile means of displaying merchandise items in a retail environment.
A further object is to provide a physical support for an item of merchandise to permit both complete visual inspection and manual manipulation of moveable parts by a prospective purchaser.
Another object is to provide merchandise display apparatus which permits selective mounting upon either a vertical surface having preformed holes therein, or upon a conventional track or channel member on the front edge of a store shelf.
Still another object is to provide support means for an item of merchandise which permit display of the item in any one of a plurality of rotational orientations, depending upon its height above floor level.
Other objects will in part be obvious and in part appear hereinafter.